Category: Miami Heat Blog

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Nov 24: Rockets 107, Heat 98

The AP reports: Ron Artest is difficult to please. After seeing Yao Ming shake off waves of defenders in a 28-point, 12-rebound effort that helped the Houston Rockets beat the Miami Heat 107-98 on Monday night, someone asked Artest to assess his center’s performance. “I thought he could have played better,” Artest said… Artest scored 20 and Rafer Alston added 14 points for Houston, which finished with six players in double figures and outrebounded Miami 51-35. Luis Scola had 11 points and 13 rebounds, while Carl Landry and Aaron Brooks each scored 11 for the Rockets, who finished off a 3-0 road trip against East teams. Dwyane Wade scored 23 points for Miami, doing so on 7-for-23 shooting, which prompted another quick line from Artest. “He played really bad tonight,” Artest said. “He didn’t play like I’m used to seeing him play.” Mario Chalmers added a career-best 23 points, including five 3-pointers, for the Heat, who also got 17 points from Shawn Marion, 14 from Beasley and a season-high 12 from Yakhouba Diawara.

Players of Week: Wade, Nowitzki

The Miami Heat’s Dwyane Wade and the Dallas Mavericks’ Dirk Nowitzki today were named the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played Monday, Nov.17, through Sunday, Nov. 23.

Wade led Miami to a 2-1 week, averaging a league-best 32.3 points and added 9.7 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 3.3 blocks. On Nov. 19, Wade joined Alvan Adams as the only players in NBA history to tally at least 40 points, 10 assists and five blocks in a game, when he tallied 40 points, 11 assists and five blocks against the Raptors. Wade’s 38 points on Nov. 22 marked the 100th 30-point game of his career, while his 14 fourth-quarter points helped the Heat overcome a 15-point deficit to defeat Indiana, 109-100.

Nowitzki averaged 27.0 points, 10.3 rebounds and 2.7 assists as Dallas went 3-0 on the week. Ranked fourth in the league in scoring (24.7 ppg), Nowitzki posted two double-doubles, including a 25-point, 10-rebound game against Memphis to give the Mavericks their first home-win this season, on Nov. 21. Nowitzki leads the Mavericks in scoring, rebounding and minutes, and has recorded 30 or more points five times this season.

Other nominees for the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week were Boston’s Rajon Rondo, Cleveland’s LeBron James, Dallas’ Jason Terry, Denver’s Chauncey Billups, New Jersey’s Vince Carter, Philadelphia’s Elton Brand and Phoenix’s Amare Stoudemire.

Nov 22: Heat 109, Pacers 100

The AP reports: Dwyane Wade shook off flu-like symptoms to score 38 points, and the Heat outscored Indiana by 21 after halftime to beat the Pacers 109-100 on Saturday night… Shawn Marion had 18 points, nine rebounds and six steals, while Michael Beasley scored 14 of his 17 points in the second half for Miami. Udonis Haslem added 16 points for the Heat, who limited Indiana to 37 percent shooting in the second half on the way to outscoring the Pacers 61-40 in the final 24 minutes… Marquis Daniels scored 25 points, and Danny Granger added 23 for the Pacers, who fell to 1-4 on the road. Rasho Nesterovic scored 13 points, T.J. Ford added 11 and Brandon Rush had 10 for Indiana… Daniels scored 10 points in the first quarter, helping stake Indiana to a quick 31-20 edge. The Pacers opened the lead up to as many as 15 in the second, before settling for a 60-48 edge at the break—matching the most points Miami has allowed in any half this season.

Nov 19: Raptors 101, Heat 95

The AP reports: Dwyane Wade did something the NBA hadn’t seen in more than 31 years. It still wasn’t enough to take down the sharpshooting Toronto Raptors. Andrea Bargnani scored a season-high 25 points, Jermaine O’Neal added 16 points and 17 rebounds, and the Raptors were 8-for-8 on 3-pointers in the second half to overcome Wade’s huge effort and beat the Miami Heat 101-95 on Wednesday night. Wade finished with season highs of 40 points and 11 assists, plus added a career-best five blocks. Since blocks became an official stat, the only other player to have a 40-10-5 effort was Alvan Adams of the Phoenix Suns, who had 47 points, 12 assists and five blocks against Buffalo on Feb. 22, 1977, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Nov 18: Heat 94, Wizards 87

The AP reports: The Heat beat the Wizards on Tuesday night for the second time in five days. Dwyane Wade scored 19 points, leading six players in double figures in a 94-87 victory. “We would love to have a game like this where everybody is in double figures all across the board,” said Wade, who also had 10 assists, six rebounds and five turnovers despite rolling his ankle Sunday against Toronto… Antawn Jamison (25) and Caron Butler (21) had 46 of the 59 points scored by the Wizards starters. Nick Young added 12 points off the bench, but his four turnovers included a bad pass in the final minute that ended Washington’s attempt to comeback from a 13-point, fourth-quarter deficit.

Nov 16: Raptors 107, Heat 96

The AP reports: Chris Bosh scored 27 points, Jermaine O’Neal had 11 points and 18 rebounds and the Toronto Raptors snapped a two-game losing streak with a 107-96 victory over the Heat on Sunday. Kris Humphries scored 14 points and Andrea Bargnani added 12 in his first start of the season. Jason Kapono and Anthony Parker each had 10. Dwyane Wade scored 29 for Miami, with Daequan Cook adding a season-high 16 and Michael Beasley 13. Chris Quinn had 11 points and Udonis Haslem added 10 for the Heat… Toronto guard Jose Calderon sat out with a strained right hamstring and was replaced by Will Solomon, who finished with 15 points and 11 assists.

Nov 14: Heat 97, Wizards 77

The AP reports: Dwyane Wade scored 24 points before taking the fourth quarter off, the Heat held Washington without a field goal for 9 minutes in the second half and outrebounded the bigger Wizards by a huge margin on the way to an easy 97-77 victory on Friday night. A 20-1 run in the third quarter turned a six-point lead into a rout for Miami (5-4), which needed 20 games to hit the five-win mark last season… Michael Beasley scored 19 points, Udonis Haslem had 13 points and 13 rebounds and Marion—who had missed two games with a strained groin—added 12 points and 12 rebounds for the Heat, who held a 52-33 advantage on the boards… Antawn Jamison finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds for Washington, which fell to 0-4 on the road and an Eastern Conference-worst 1-6 overall. JaVale McGee and Nick Young each added 13 points for the Wizards, while former Heat standout Caron Butler was held to six points.

Heat arena has tons of empty seats

I’m flipping around NBA league pass, and stopped by the Wizards at Heat game. Miami has an early 14-9 lead. Nothing worth reporting about the game yet, and I’ll probably head to another game in a few minutes.

But it has to be said, judging by TV, the expensive seats look at least 66% empty. The red seats stand out in a big way on television.

I’m a bit surprised that it’s this bad.

The team supposedly gets over 16,000 fans per game so far this season. That’s what’s listed, at least. And, the Wizards aren’t exactly a particularly hot opponent. Still, someone has to get Heat fans into the arena. The team has holes at point guard and center but is still worth watching.

Dwyane Wade is healthy and himself again, even if he’s still getting used to his teammates and new coach. He’s putting up 28.3 points, 5.9 rebounds and 7.6 assists per game on 49.0% shooting. That alone should attract plenty more fans.

Michael Beasley has been a good scorer, but he isn’t rebounding as much as expected. His defense is lacking and a serious work in progress. But he’s good and fun to watch, especially as he grows into a refined player.

Shawn Marion isn’t himself yet. Udonis Haslem is playing decently as a vastly undersized center.

The point guards and centers aren’t worth mentioning at this point.

Still, the team is fun and decent. Heat fans, go see your team!

Beasley defense lacking

The Palm Beach Post (Chris Perkins) reports: Coach Erik Spoelstra said it couldn’t be done, and he was right. The Heat can’t hide Michael Beasley’s defensive shortcomings. But Miami is trying. It put center Udonis Haslem on Portland’s LaMarcus Aldridge in Wednesday’s 104-96 loss. It was the fourth time in eight games Beasley defended the opponents’ center instead of its power forward. Eventually in the Portland game, Beasley, who struggles with defensive rotations, had to be taken out altogether. “There were a lot of situations being thrown at him yesterday, and his head was spinning,” Spoelstra said after today’s practice.